Latch-key carries



' n. c. HANSGEN.

LATCH KEY CARRIER.

APPLICATION FILED Aue.10.|9x5.

1 ,3 1 3 ,85 1 Pat ented Aug. 19, 1919.

INVENTOR BY W I A TTORN I Y WITNESS.

' ments in Latch-Key Y same reference key may be readily ROSE C. HANSGEN, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

LATCH-KEY CARRIER.

. Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 19, 1919.

Application flied August 10, 1915. Serial No. 44,782.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Ross C. HANSGEN, a

citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improve- Carriers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the devices by means of which a. latch key may be securely carried without inconvenience beneath the skirt, and may be permanently attached to some indis usable portion of the wardrobe, such for instance, as from the corsets or from a hose supporter. for one of its objects the suspending of a latch key from the hose supporter in such a manner that the key may be readily removed or detached therefrom without substantially lifting the skirtthe providing of a clasp or snap hook which fits the sides of the key when supported therein,'to prevent the key from turning with respect to the snap hook or becoming accidentally loosened or freed therefrom.

' A further object of my invention is to suspend a latch key, ing the same, freely fromthe clasp of a hose supporter, by a strong flexible connection, such for instance, as a braided cord, flat tape, or strong flat ribbon, and in such a manner that the stud connection is not liable and the device for hold- The invention has to become twisted or knotted while being worn.

Further objects of my invention will appear in the specification and claims below.

. Referring now to the drawing forming a part of the specification, and in which the characters are used to designate the same parts throughout the various views:

Fi re 1 is a view of my invention, showing t e manner in which the device and the key su ported thereby are attached to and suspen ed from a hose supporter, and showing the relative length of the flexible connection by mea'ns of which the snap hook is attached to the supporter and whereby the detached from the snap hook without substantially lifting the skirt;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the latch key carrier, with the latch key attached thereto, and permanently attached to the hose sup orter by looping the flexible connection t rough the metal loop or eye of the hose supporter;

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the same;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the metal clamp by means of which the ends of the flexible connection are attached to the ring of the swiveled portion of the snap hook;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal view of the metal clamp shown in Fig. 4, and Fig. 6 is a view of a modification of the invention indicative of the way in which the snap ,hook may be attached to the metal loop or eye of the hose supporter by means of a flexible knotted woven cord.

To the metal loop or eye 1 of the hose supporter 2, through which passes the button 3 for securing the fastening the hose to the supporter, is tied, looped or otherwise .and around the cord, tape or ribbon are pressed together to increase the holding and ripping action of the clamp and prevent the rec ends of the flexible connection from bein pulled out of said clamp.

fihe swiveled portion 6 of said snap hook is, permanently attached to the head 10 thereof so that the hook portion thereof may turn as a whole with respect to said swiveled portion 6. The head 10 of the snap hook 7 preferably passes through a hole or o ening in the swiveled portion 6 and is pre erably upset or headed over so as to prevent the removal or detachment of the hook with respect to said swivel.

The snap hook 7 consists of a closed metal 100 which diverge considerably from each other until they reach points a little below the middle of the loop, and the lower sides -1212 of which then more abruptly approach each other until the lower ends 0 said portions are relatively near each other,

structure, the upper sides 1111' of v closed loop. The distance between the inner sides of the parallel portions 1313 at the lower end of the snap hook is slightly greater than the thickness of a latch key 14, so that when a latch key is inserted into the loop and is supported from the bottom thereof, the opposite sides of said key will lie rather closely adjacent the parallel sides 1313 of the snap hook.

The u per side 11 of the snap hook is preferab y secured to the head 10 by a pivot or pin 15, and within the head 10 is a sprin 16 tending to hold the beveled free end 17 o the side 11' against a correspondingly beveled end 18 of the hook. The side 11' thus forms a spring latch tending to hold the snap hook closed but permitting a key to be inserted into or removed from the snap hook when the latch 11' is depressed.

In the preferred form of my invention, the flexible connection 4 is a soft tubular braided cord and may be in the form of a relatively lon flexible loop, 550 that when the upper en of the said 100 is inserted through the metal eye 1 of the ose supporter, the snap hook 7 may be then inserted through the loop of the flexible connection, and the flexible connection may then be tightly drawn, thus tying or knotting the said connection to the lowerend of the metal eye 1. This flexible connection 4 should be of a length to.

permit the snap hook 7 and key 14, carried thereby, to be suspended at a point a little below tlie 'knee, and when so arranged and attached the key may be readil removed from the snap hook 7 without su stantially lifting the skirt. To. remove the key from the snap hook 7 it is only necessary for the wearer to stoop, bending the knees, and allowing the key to move downwardly to a position substantially on a level with the floor or the lower hem or ed e of the skirt, and to then depress the late 11 with the thumb or finger and slide the key out of the snap hook. The parallel sides 1313 of the lower part of the snap hook hold the key relatively closely so that the said key may not he accidentally slipped ofl' the hook and so that if there is a tendency for the key to rotate on its longitudinal axis while being worn, due to the mgtion of the body, as for instance, in walking, it will not 'rise in the hook, but will turn the sna hook on its swivel with the key. A roun braided cord, in addition to being strong and flexible, does not wear as rapidly as a tape orribbon, and is therefore preferable for the purpose.

The side or latch 11' is made relatively lon so that it extends to substantially the widist portion of the loo of the snap iook, thus providing a latch lbng enough to be depressed by the fingers and permitting snf ficient space for the passage of the key between the free (-ndof the hook (when the latchis depressed) and the finger, and the wide portion of the 100 is to provide space for the relatively long distance between the opening or hole 14 of the key and the top of the key.

In Fig. 6 is illustrated a manner of attaching the snap hook swivel to the eye of a hose supporter of a single length of cord 4,

preferably woven of tubular form, the ends of said cord being provided with knots 19-19 and then tied respectively to the hose supporter eye I and the swivel 5 by knots 2020. v

By reason of the flexible connection 4 and the swivel 5 and the prevention of the turning of'the key 14 on its axis with respect to the snap hook 7 the connection 4 does not nerthat the wearer is not liable to sit upon the ke or upon the snap hook and thus accidentall y depress the latch and free the key from the snap hook. Moreover, neither the key nor the snap hook will show through the skirt'or clothing on account of the free manner in which it is suspended and this free suspension of the hook and key prevents the same from wearing either the hose or the clothing in contact therewith.

With this device a latch key may be 91- ways carried by the wearer without any inconvenience whatever and inasmuch as it is adapted to be permanently secured to an indlspensable part of the ap are], it will be substantially always carried and will be, therefore, always available when needed.

What I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is: a

1. A latch key carrier comprising the 001m bination of a snap hook having a relatively wide upper portion and a relatively lon narrow lower end, the inner sides of said ower end being substantially parallel and separated by substantially the thickness of an ordinar latch key, a sprin pressed latch normal holding said hook c osed and forming a si' e ofsald wide portion, a swivel at the top of said snap hook, and a flexible fabric connection attached to said swivel and 2. A latch key carrier com rising the combination of snap hook inclu ing a swivel at the top thereof, of a flexible connection of soft material ermanently attached to said snap hook, sair connection being of a length to hold said hook suspended at a. position a little below the knee of the wearer when the upper end of said flexible connection is attached to 'a hose supporter, whereby the rotation of said hook does not twist said flexible connection and said hook may be brought to a osition at or about the lower e( e of the s irt of the wearer by bending the knees.

3. A latch key carrier comprising the combination of a sna hook havin a relatively wide upper portion and a relatively 1on narrow lower end, the inner sides of said lower end being substantially parallel and separated by substantially the thickness of an ordinary latch key, a spring pressed latch normal] holding said hook closed and forming a si e of the said Wide )ortion, a swivel at the top of said snap hoo k, a flexible fabric connection, said swivel being at tached to said fabric connection whereby said hook is freely rotatable on said swivel on an axis substantiall coincident with that of the end of said flexible connection and the rotation of said book does not twist said flexible connection.

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 10th day of Au ust 1915.

ROSE C. ANSGEN. 

